Live Review: Shonen Knife, Satan's Cheerleaders

Pop punk superstars Shonen Knife have been rocking out since 1981 and are showing absolutely no signs of slowing down.

The iconic Japanese rockers, who are currently in the middle of a huge Australia tour, visited Adelaide as part of the city's infamous OzAsia festival. The gig took place at Nexus Arts, an intimate space with a well-stocked bar. In the dimly lit venue, the crowd was packed wall-to-wall, with punters lounging on red bean bags in lieu of a mosh pit.

Local post-rock band Satan's Cheerleaders kicked the show off with a highly enigmatic and entrancing set, combining deep throbbing bass-heavy melodies with smooth funk-inspired licks from their resident saxophonist. The four-piece delivered a tight, synchronised performance that spanned a multiplicity of genres. Behind them, a playthrough of a video game called The Last Ninjas was beamed onto a projector screen, further highlighting the cinematic qualities of their music.

After a short break to grab some drinks, the moment we were all waiting for arrived. Shonen Knife skipped onto the stage in matching metallic outfits, made for them by their multi-talented bass player Atsuko Yamano (which she announced mid-set). Recent addition 22-year-old drummer Risa Kawano immediately captured the hearts of the room with her glowing smile, which never left her face as she began thrashing her way through the band's opening number, Pop Tune.

Despite being on the scene for 36 years, sisters Naoko and Atsuko Yamano are still full of boundless energy, and wielded their guitars with the precision of punk rock giants. Their chemistry was incredible, and it was such an inspiring sight seeing such a high-energy set absolutely nailed, spanning from cute surf-rock inspired numbers like Banana Chips and BBQ Party to heavy '70s shredding slowjams like Jump Into The New World. By the time they started shredding their way through Ramen Rock, every single member of the audience was screaming in joy.

For their penultimate track, Naoko and Atsuko played back-to-back, headbanging over the necks of their guitars. The trio ran off for a moment, only to come back as the cheers and stomping of the crowd shook the stage. Ending the show with a high-octane punk cover of The Monkees Daydream Believer, Shonen Knife were a delight from start to finish. Unique, adorable and incredibly talented, Shonen Knife will hopefully keep slaying the pop punk scene for many years to come.